Over the past few decades, there has been an erosion of traditional eating habits and this has led to a growth in the snack food market. Snacks are no longer confined to grazing between meals, but also are taking the place of meals, for example, as workers eat lunch at their desks.
Whilst consumers are demanding products which may be indulgent, more affordable, playful or overall more interesting, the success of any snack product is still highly dependent on its convenience.
Alongside the development of snack food products, there is a greater demand for a greater range of beverages and in particular there has been a rapid rise in packaged coffee products which have developed from a basic drink to a wide range of drinks designed to appeal to different consumer tastes. In particular some of these drinks use premium coffees, which are leading to the development of indulgent treats in the form of foamed food and beverage products.
One process for serving a ready-to-drink cappuccino is described in DE-A-4332387. This describes an extraction method using coffee powder which is mixed with liquid and stored in a container with an air space of a quarter to a twentieth of the container volume. Prior to opening and consumption, the containers are shaken until foam has formed in the air space. The container is then opened and the beverage drunk from the container or emptied into a separate drinking receptacle.
The Douwe Egberts Café Switch™ product launched in 2006 is described in US-A-2007/0031545 and comprises a package which can be used for preparing a coffee beverage from a foamable liquid and a gas. The package comprises two chambers which are connected, between which the liquid and gas are displaceable by squeezing each chamber consecutively. A flow disrupter placed in the connecting passage assists the mixing and foam formation. After pumping the package can be opened and the contents poured into a drinking vessel and topped up with hot or cold water.
Both of these prior art solutions, however, require rigorous shaking or some form of manual manipulation. It is therefore desirable to provide an improved package for preparing a foamable beverage or food product.